I guess this is what I get for fast-forwarding through most of Idol Gives Back, the now-annual all-star fundraiser hosted by American Idol last week. The lineup was weaker than last year (Teri Hatcher?) and very little caught my eye long enough for me to watch (I did pause to take in the Teri Hatcher trainwreck).

So it wasn’t until I watched the Idol results show on Wednesday night that I heard about the availability of winning-contestant stamps to benefit Idol Gives Back. While I have no interest in snagging the Ruben Studdard set issued this week, it seems I missed out on the first week’s release featuring Kelly Clarkson, the original American Idol. Thanks to my well-trained TiVo trigger finger, my dreams of having Ms. Clarkson help me pay the mortgage have been dashed for the moment.

During my online search for the stamps, I did discover another video from My December, Clarkson’s third album. The disc didn’t receive much promotion because of some behind-the-scenes label drama that spilled out into the headlines. Nonetheless, it’s a solid effort (good, not great) that’s undeserving of the critical drubbing it received. If “Never Again,” the album’s lead single, is all you’ve heard, “Don’t Waste Your Time” is worth the watch:

Clarkson is in the studio working on music for her upcoming fourth effort (tentatively titled True You). A few unfinished tracks from those sessions were recently leaked online, much to her dismay: “The fact that people have heard music that’s not ready yet sucks, but I hope they like it.” (Looks like I’ve got some more online searching to do.)

As for Clive Davis, the Sony BMG maestro that she feuded with, he was replaced as label head this week.